The best albums of 2011

[dogsipod]

Foster the people-- torches
Explosions in the sky--take care....
White lies-- ritual
Florence and the machine--ceremonials


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[50 Volt Phantom]

M83 - hurry up, we're dreaming
Glassjaw - coloring book ep
Tom Waits - bad as me
Cave In - white silence
Burzum - fallen
Bass Drum of Death - GB city
Wavves - life sux ep
Wolves In The Throne Room - celestial lineage
Jesu - ascension
The Beach Boys - the smile sessions
Liturgy - aesthetica
Mogwai - hardcore will never die, but you will

I'm sure I have others but can't remember them right now.

[piggy]

I didn't buy much this year but I adore the Anna Calvi album.

[Mantra]

I wasn't very excited by most of the new music I heard this year, so I mainly spent time digging into old albums.

But my favorite album of the year is probably Ruin by Elite Gymnastics. Maybe.

I also really liked Pleasure by Pure X. Great little psych-pop album. And my favorite hip-hop album was definitely Black Up by Shabazz Palaces. Such a weird, crazy album. Definitely some of the most creative and fun hip-hop in recent years. Also, I'm a huge Burial fan, so I fucking loved that single that he put out earlier in the year. I suppose the Panda Bear album was okay too, even if it couldn't live up to Person Pitch.

[Ryan]

A Pale Horse Named Death - And Hell Will Follow Me

[westost]

Thank god ETS is back, I can always find something new and exciting to listen to in this thread. You guys are awesome! My fav three this year (off the top of my head):

Forget by Twin Shadow
Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
Heritage by Opeth

[Jinsai]

just discovered this, but it's pretty great

Other Lives - Tamer Animals

[Aaron]

^^Yeah, that's a good one.
Also Sepalcure's self-titled,
Atlas Sound's Parallax,
definitely Bad As Me (Tom Waits),
M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Real Estate's Days,
Lakutis's I'm In the Forest,
not to mention Das Racist "Relax"
Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
Future Islands - On the Water
The Field have a classic on their hands with "Looping State of Mind"
Peaking Lights -936
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
Cults-Cults
Amon Tobin - ISAM, which I appreciate so much more after seeing live
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Com Truise - Cyanide Sisters
The Horrors' massively overlooked "Skying"
Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
The King of Limbs (it really was one of the best of the year)
Panda Bear - Tomboy

and finally, my album of the year, John Maus- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Unbelievable, genius, brilliant.

[Jinsai]

and finally, my album of the year, John Maus- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Unbelievable, genius, brilliant.

I actually just listened to this... it was interesting, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm going to check it out again later.

I also just listened to Patten - GLAQJO XAACSSO
Pretty awesome electronic sample rhythm noise collage stuff.

I'm basically going through Bleep's picks for albums of the year, and I have to say I'm a bit confounded by their pick for best album of the year. I just do not get it. Byetone? I saw this mentioned on someone else's list here, but it's not connecting with me at all. I'll try again later.

With regards to your list, I'm still also similarly confounded by why people love The Field so much. It's very pleasant, but it sounds to me like good music to listen to while walking on a treadmill or something... yet people praise it in glowing emotional terms. Something's flying over my head there too I guess.

[Aaron]

I actually just listened to this... it was interesting, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm going to check it out again later.

I also just listened to Patten - GLAQJO XAACSSO
Pretty awesome electronic sample rhythm noise collage stuff.

I'm basically going through Bleep's picks for albums of the year, and I have to say I'm a bit confounded by their pick for best album of the year. I just do not get it. Byetone? I saw this mentioned on someone else's list here, but it's not connecting with me at all. I'll try again later.

With regards to your list, I'm still also similarly confounded by why people love The Field so much. It's very pleasant, but it sounds to me like good music to listen to while walking on a treadmill or something... yet people praise it in glowing emotional terms. Something's flying over my head there too I guess.

I'm equally confused by Bleep's pick for album of the year. But I've gotta tell you, man, the Field's new album is pretty transcendent. Its simplicity is deceptive. I don't know how to explain it. It might just not be your shit. I don't know if you partake, and don't shit on me for this, but get high. Smoke some weed. Listen to the whole album. The Field isn't a band you can take in small doses. It won't make sense like that. If you don't appreciate minimalism, you won't appreciate The Field either. I recently saw them live, and the slow build-up, coupled with subtle changes and evolutions throughout each song, it's really cerebral, mind-bending stuff.

John Maus I appreciate on a totally different level. He makes music using the language of pop music, but in such a subversive and new way that it really communicates philosophically. Which makes sense, he's a philosophy lecturer. If you've ever seen an interview with the guy, you might think he's lost his mind, but he really gets onto some Hegelian-power dynamic, Foucault, biopolitics shit. One of a very few true radicals making music today, in my opinion.

[NotoriousTIMP]

I just found my way into the Hanna OST and I must say, The Chemical Brothers sound REALLY good. This will make for some good tunes while working on the computer

[sweetcompanion]

I didn't get to hear a lot of new music this year, but I love Steven Wilson's Grace for Drowning and Opeth's Heritage. I've got a lot of catching up to do.

[dlb]

Graveyard - hisingen blues
Samsara Blues Experiment - revelation & misery
Trap Them - darker handcraft
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - blood lust
Jack & the Bearded Fishermen -places to hide
Timber Timbre - keep on creepin' on
Jane's Addiction - the great escape artist
Beady Eye - different gear, still speeding
Bohren & der Club of Gore - Beileid
Ray LaMonatgne - live fall 2010 EP
Blacktusk - set the dial
Automatic Animal - modern alchemy
Primus - green naugahyde
Lüger - concrete light
Earth - angels of darkness, demons of light, pt. I
Electric Six - heartbeats and brainwaves
Danko Jones - below the belt
Baddies - build
Monkey3 - beyond the black sky


on the downside:
Atari Teenage Riot - is this hyperreal? (I expected so much more... it's not bad, but far from what it could be)
Puscifer - conditions of my parole (I love tiny monsters and man overboard, but just can't dig the rest. unfortunately. )

upcoming:
Noel Gallagher's high Flying Birds - s/t (from what I've heard it's great, but I did not have enough time to give it a proper spin)
the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - OST (looks like this will get me through the winter and some overdue seminar papers)

[westost]

and finally, my album of the year, John Maus- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Unbelievable, genius, brilliant.

Man, almost forgot about that one! Absolutely brilliant record, with a very pretty cover. Definitely in my top 10.

[[Shep]]

Bright Eyes - The People's Key
Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
The Horrors - Skying
Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk
Incubus - If Not Now, When?
The Kills - Blood Pressures
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Puscifer - Conditions of my Parole
Thursday - No Devolución
TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
White Lies - Ritual

[Harry Seaward]

Here you guys go.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/vice-...-the-year-2011

[pigpen]

Russian Circles - Empros
This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket
Brown Bird - Salt for Salt(Which I just ordered on vinyl)
Chealsea Wolfe - The Grime and the Glow
Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
The Decemberists - The King is Dead
Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest
Grieves - Together/Apart
Iron and Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, but You Will


...My favorite of 2011 is:

Trap Them - Darker Handcraft

[Pemulis]

This is definitely taking something's spot on my list:

[Elke]

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
Tori Amos - Night of Hunters
British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall
Björk - Biophilia
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
dEUS - Keep You Close
Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
Agnes Obel - Ceremonials
James Blake - James Blake
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome
Beirut - The Rip Tide

[theSplinter04]

Animals As Leaders: Weightless
(Between the Buried and Me: The Parallax EP)
(Cynic: Carbon-Based Anatomy EP)
Foo Fighters: Wasting Light
Haken: Visions
Mastodon: The Hunter
Opeth: Heritage
Radiohead: The King of Limbs
TR & AR: TGWTDT (so far)
Saul Williams: Volcanic Sunlight
Scale the Summit: The Collective
Steven Wilson: Grace for Drowning

2011 was a good year.

[R37R0]

Although not particularly contemporary, I have been enjoying these new releases:

Deep Purple BBC Sessions 1968-1970
Rolling Stones The Brussels Affair (digital edition from www.stonesarchive.com)

as for new music,

foo fighters wasting light

[Aaron]

^^Yeah, that's a good one.
Also Sepalcure's self-titled,
Atlas Sound's Parallax,
definitely Bad As Me (Tom Waits),
M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Real Estate's Days,
Lakutis's I'm In the Forest,
not to mention Das Racist "Relax"
Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
Future Islands - On the Water
The Field have a classic on their hands with "Looping State of Mind"
Peaking Lights -936
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
Cults-Cults
Amon Tobin - ISAM, which I appreciate so much more after seeing live
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Com Truise - Cyanide Sisters
The Horrors' massively overlooked "Skying"
Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
The King of Limbs (it really was one of the best of the year)
Panda Bear - Tomboy

and finally, my album of the year, John Maus- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Unbelievable, genius, brilliant.

Shit, gotta add Nicolas Jaar's other release this year, the Darkside EP with Dave Harrington. The kid is going places!

[konstantin]

so much new music came out this year i feel like i hardly gave any record the time it deserved to actually connect with/appreciate. which is kind of sad. i'll post my own list in the coming weeks.

love the end of year albums threads because there's always some band that i've been following for years but somehow missed their latest release.

off the top of my head i'd say the Drive Soundtrack kept me pretty psyched for quite a while.

[REPLICA]

Beirut - The Rip Tide
Explosions in the Sky - Take Care
Gary Numan - Dead Son Rising

[Fredy_Brown]

Hi all!
I will post here at the end of the year.
Take care.

[scorpiusdiamond]

My top 10, it was a good year:

1. No Kings - Doomtree
2. Johnny Foreigner vs Everything - Johnny Foreigner
3. Hello Sadness - Los Campesinos!
4. Helioscope - Vessels
5. There Is A Way - Dananananaykroyd
6. Black Junk - Exit_International
7. Crisis Works - Young Legionnaire
8. Fuck The Demon Outta Me - The Guns
9. Little Hell - City and Colour
10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

[peter]

Cliff Martinez - Drive OST
Mogwai - Hardcore will never die, but you will
Puscifer - Conditions of my Parole
MuteMath - Odd Sould
The Roots - Undun
13&god - Own your ghost
Tv on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Thrice - Major/minor
PJ Harvey - Let England shake
Feist - Metals
Does it offend you, yeah - Don't say we didnt warn you
Atari Teenage Riot - Is this hyperreal?

[Mantra]

The Pitchfork list is up. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-...lbums-of-2011/

Looking over it, I feel like this was an incredibly dull year in music. '07, '08, and '09 were pretty amazing years, where you had to struggle to keep up with all the great new albums. But last year was a little slow, and this year was just totally forgettable. But that's alright with me. They can't all be amazing. Besides, you need these slower years, so you can spend time discovering all the older albums that you missed out on.

[Kid Charlemagne]

Fuck Bon Iver. Really tired of this adult-contemporary rock that seems so popular. The album was good, but not great in anyway, and at times a tad boring. Same thing with that Destroyer album. I wouldn't say 2011 was a down year, but there were plenty of albums that were better than the ones that seem to be topping all the internet blog lists.

[blackholesun]

This year was amazing. The shit on Pitchfork's list is rather dull though. There's like 5 albums that would overlap a top 50 if I did one. Their list is terrible.

There's always good new music out there to be had. Years really have nothing to do with it. You just gotta be willing to to dig for it whether it's scouring blogs or going to the local record shop and checking something new out based on staff recs.